Cut and loop axminster loom and method



July 26, 1960. M. w. WORTH CUT AND LOOP AXMINSTER LOOM AND METHOD 4Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 24, 1958 July 26, 1960 M. w. WORTH CUT ANDLOOP AXMINSTER LOOM AND METHOD Filed Dec. 24, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 July26, 1960 w, WORTH 2,946,350

CUT AND LOOP AXMINSTER LOOM AND METHOD Filed Dec. 24, 1958 4Sheets-Sheet 3 July 26, 1960 M. w. WORTH 2,946,350

CUT AND LOOP AXMINSTER LOOM AND METHOD Filed 05c. 24. 1958 4Sheets-Sheet 4 JIM Mad/[1% WQM MM CUT AND LOOP AXMINSTER LOOM AND METHODMaurice W. Worth, Glasgow, Va., assignor to James Lees and Sons Company,Bridgeport, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Dec. 24, 1958, Ser.No. 782,972

9 Claims. (Cl. 139-7) This invention relates to the method and apparatusfor producing pile fabric and more particularly to a modification of anAxminster loom whereby the ends of individual pile projections are boundin the base fabric to form the loop pile face.

The conventional Axminster loom as such is incapable of producing anuncut or loop pile face. Previous attempts to modify an Axminster loomto produce an uncut pile have met with varying degrees of success. Oneexample of such a modification is Eisler and Moxley Patent No.2,715,918. The present invention, however, is a radically differentapproach from all previously known devices in that it does not employ apile forming wire of any sort nor does it use individual hooks to holdup the pile.

A primary object of the invention, therefore, is to provide a modifiedAxminster loom capable of weaving uncut pile.

A further object of the invention is to provide in an Axminster loom anupper and a lower comb which cooperate to form uncut loops having theirbottom extremities securely tied in to the base fabric.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel oscillating andpivoting upper comb for an Axminster loom.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel method ofweaving a loop pile Axminster fabric.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a novel uncutAxminster pile fabric.

And a still further object of the invention is to provide a loop pileAxminster fabric in which one end of each loop extremity is tied inbetween superimposed top and bottom shots and the other end is tied inunder the next succeeding single shot.

Further objects will be apparent from the specification and drawings inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an Axminster loom constructed inaccordance with the present invention,

Fig. 2 is a sectional detail showing the actuating mechanism for theimproved upper comb,

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail as seen at 3-3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a weave diagram of a warpwise section of a fabric produced onmy improved loom,

Fig. 5 is a weftwise section of the fabric as seen at 55 of Fig. 4,

Fig. 6 is a weftwise section of the fabric as seen at 66 of Fig. 4,

Fig. 7 is a perspective showing the front and upper surfaces of theupper comb,

Fig. 8 is a perspective showing the front and bottom surfaces of theupper comb of Fig. 7,

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional detail as seen at 9-9 of Fig. 7,

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary sectional detail as seen at 10 10 of Fig. 7,and

Figs. 1120 show diagrammatically the weaving of the fabric in accordancewith the present invention together with the structural relationship ofthe various parts of the modified Axminster loom.

The invention comprises essentially the provision of an upper comb whichis positioned immediately above the Woven fabric as it passes over thebreast beam. The comb advances to fold over severed pile ends down intothe fell and around the lower comb which raises the cut pile projectionsto form loops. The lower comb wipes up the end of each projection tosecurely tie in under the next filling weft or shot. The invention alsoincludes the novel steps of producing an Axminster loop pile fabrichaving the pile extremities wiped up into the ground fabric which inturn produces a new and different product with a heavy, reinforcedbacking.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the pertinent parts ofan Axminster loom are illustrated in Fig. 1 and comprise harness frames36}, 31, and 32 which control chain warps 33, 34 and stufier warp 35respectively. The pile yarns Y are supplied from a tube frame 36 andfeed from spool 37 through tuft tubes 38 as in the customary Axminsterloom. Successive tube frames are removed from the chain and dipped intothe shed to present the several yarn ends Y to the weaving apparatus.The operation of the Axminster chains and tube frames is well known andneed not be described herein. Likewise, following conventional Axminsterpractice, a pair of knives or blades 40 and 41 are positioned to sever acontrolled length of yarn Y from the tube frames. Blade 40 may beconsidered a gauging blade and is secured to the knife stock 42. Blade41 is secured to knife stock 43 and cooperates with the blade 40 tosever all of the yarns supplied to the fabric from tube frame 36. Mymodified loom is also provided with the conventional reed 45 which beats:up the various filling shots 46 into the fell 47 of the fabric F whichpasses over the tip 48 of the breast plate 49. The lower comb 54) ismounted on a movable support 51 and serves to wipe up the cut ends orextremities of the pile as will be described more fully hereinafter. Anupper comb assembly 52 is provided with a series of teeth or tines 53which cooperate with the lower comb 50 to weave the fabric shown in Fig.4. Upper comb 52 comprises a series of bifurcated, generally triangularteeth 53 which are secured to or are formed integrally with comb body 55(Figs. 7 and 8) in turn mounted on a shaft 56 by brackets 57, 57. Thelower edges of the teeth 53 are beveled or tapered, as shown clearly inFigs. 7 and 8, and each of the teeth is bifurcated at 58 to accommodatethe warps 33, 34, and 35.

In the weaving cycle, the knives are opened, as shown in Fig. 1, and aneedle 59 is inserted into the shed formed by chain warps 33 and 34 andstuffer warp 35 to place a shot of filling 46a in front of the reed 45.The other elements are generally retracted as seen in this position.Figure 11 illustrates the final step in the tying in of the trailing end61 of the previously formed loop 6 2. This end 6 1 is wiped up andaround the filling shot 46 by means of the comb 50. The leading leg orend of the succeeding loop is then inserted by means of tuft tube 38 tothe position shown in Fig. 11. The broken lines show the maximumpenetration of the tuft tube 38 and the yarn ends Y. In the next stepthe reed 45 beats up the filling shot 46a against the lower portion ofeach yarn Y shown in Fig. 12. Meanwhile, however, the lower comb 50 haswithdrawn to a position below the tip 48 of the breast plate. The lowercomb 50 elevates, as shown in Figs. 13 and 14, to wipe up the leadingend 63 of yarn Y and tie it in around top shot 46a. Concurrently, theupper comb 53 is advanced to engage all of the yarns Y which are'nowdrawn from the spool 37 when the tube frame 38 elevates. With the comb50 still in clamping position, the knives 40 and 41 converge to severall of the yarn ends Y, as shown in Fig. 15.

After the ends are cut, the upper comb 53 is moved rearwardly to wipethe ends Y downwardly and around the comb 50 and shot 46a. The arrows inFigs. 16 and 17 indicate the path of movement of the upper comb 53 forthis purpose. With the comb 53 in its holding position, comb 50elevates, as shown in Fig. 17, to form the loops 62a which are ofconstant and equal height, by brushing or wiping up the bight of thepile yarns against the back surfaces of upper comb body 55. During thisoperation the comb 50 securely clamps the leading end 63 against thepreceding shot 46a. a third filling weft 46c has been inserted by needle59 in front of reed 45 with the chain warps 33 and 34 reversed. Thestuifer warp 35, however, remains below filling weft 460 as shown inFigs. 17 and 18. The comb 50 then withdraws and the shot 46c is beatenup by reed 45, as shown in Fig.- 19. Comb 50 then elevates to wipe upthe trailing end 64 of loops 62a around shot 460 (Fig. 20), thuscompleting the formation of this row of loops. It will be seen that theleading end 63 of each loop'is tied in under a top shot 46a and over abottom shot-46b both of which are inserted without a reversal of theharness frames 30 and 31. Harness frame 32 for the stuifer, however, isreversed, so that the stutter runs between the shots 46a and 46b. Beforethe insertion of the third shot 46c, however, the chain harness frames30 and 31 reverse so that the chain warps are on opposite sides of thethird shot. This shedding of the chain warps is shown clearly in Fig.20. After the trailing end 64 of loops 62a have been wiped up, the nextyarn end from succeeding tuft tubes 38a and tube frame 36a is wiped downinto and through the warp sheds and in advance of the first shot 46which has been inserted in front of reed 45. The cycle then repeats toprovide a three-shot loop pile Axrninster fabric.

Figures 2. and 3 indicate the details of the mechanism of the upper combassembly 52. A rocker arm '79 is journaled on shaft 80 and is controlledbya cam follower Meanwhile,

81 in contact with cam 82'. Spring 83 maintains contact between camfollower 81 and cam 82. Link 84 connects the end of arm 79 to connectingrods 85 by means of pins 86 and 87. This linkage controls both the hori-'zontal and vertical movement of the'comb 53. Horizontal movement of thecomb is controlled by means of an interconnecting link 88 secured tolink 84 by pin 89 and having a cam follower 90 engaging the surface ofcam '91. The opposite end of link 88 is bifurcated and engages the camshaft 92, thereby maintaining the radial position of the link. Spring'93 urges the cam follower 90 against cam 91. Rods '85 are pinned toshaft 56 at 95 and rollers 96, 96 support shaft 56 on guide elements 97,97 having the form of angle irons. Pivoting movement of the rods 85caused 'by cam 82' provides the chief vertical component for themovement of upper comb 53. One web of the angle iron is slotted at 98 topermit linear movement of the shaft '56 substantially parallel to theplane of fabric F. The rollers 96 are retained axially on the shaft bymeans of collars 99. The legs or brackets 57 support the comb body 55and are secured integrally "to the comb and the shaft 56 by any suitablemanner such as welding. It will thus be'apparent that the path of con'ib53 represents a compound path having both linear and arcuate componentseffected by the joint action of the earns "82 and 91.

The addition of an upper'comb having the above described function ofWipingsevered pile ends held in one extremity around an elevated lower:com'b so that a succeeding filling weft "is capable of binding in thewiped down ends represents novel construction "in an Axminster loom.

From the standpointofthe fabric woven, it is possible to produce a looppile Axminister fabric in which the pile-loop extremities actually .aretied .in underwarpwise spaced wefts and project upwardly. Suc'hconstruction in a fabric is also very .unique because the con ent on lloop pile fabric' does not consist of individual loops hav ing severedends. The operation of the mechanism is positive and permits therelatively high speed production of a loop pile Axminster fabric withoutthe use of pile wiresand without major rebuilding of the conventionalAxminster loom.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In an Axminster loom he sub-combin tion whi h comprises anoscillating reed, heddle frames for forming sheds with chain and stulferwarps, means for successively inserting filling wefts into he shed meansfor wiping pile yarns into the sheds, means for cutting pile yarns wipedinto the shed, a lower comb movable from a position below the sheds to aposition into and above the shed adjacent the fell of a fabric beingwoven, and an upper comb positioned above the fell, and means fordirectionally moving said upper comb to carry severed pile yarnsdownwardly around the back of the lower comb to form loops of uncu pilearound i upp r comb.

2- Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the upper combcomprises a body element secur d to a tran verse shaft, means forpivoting said shaft, and means for moving the shaft substantiallyparallel to the fell of the fabric.

3. In a loom for weaving an Axminster fabric, an upper comb mounted on ashaft positioned transversely above the fell of the fabricbeing woven, aguide for said shaft, bearing means between the shaft and the guide, afirst cam for controlling rotation of said shaft on the bearing means,connecting mean b tw en i first cam and the shaft, a second cam forcontrolling linear movement of the shaft in the guide, and connectingmeans between said second and the shaft.

4. The method of weaving a loop pile Axminster fabri which comprises thesteps of forming a first shed with at least two chain warps, wiping aseries of pil Y r into said shed, inserting a filling weft into the shedin back of said pile Yarns, beating up the filling weft into the fell ofthe fabric and against the lower e remi ies of the pile yarns,maintaining the chain warps in the Same Shed P sition, severing all ofth p e ya to predetermined lengths, holding the lower extremities of thepile yarns, folding over the severed pile yarn ends into the shed toform loops, reversing the chain warps to form a subsequent shed,inserting a filling weft said subsequent shed, and beating up saidlast-named filling weft into the fell of the fabric.

'5. The method of weaving a loop pile Axminster fabric which comprisesthe steps of forming .a first shed with at least two chain warps, wipinga .series of pile yarns into said shed, inserting a filling weft intothe shed in .back of said pile yarns, beating up the filling weft intothe fell of the fabric and against the :lower extremities of the pileyarns, maintaining the chain warps in the same shed position, severingall of the pile yarns ito predetermined lengths, holding the lowerextremities of the pile yarns, folding over the severed pile yarn ends.into the shed to form loops, reversing the chain warps -to form asubsequent shed, inserting a filling weft in said subsequent shed,beating up said last-named filling weft into the fell of the fabric, andwiping up the severed end of each pile yarn around said last fillingweft.

6. The method of weaving a loop pile Axminster fab ric which comprisesthe steps of forming a first shed with at least two chain warps, wipinga series of pile yarns into said shed, inserting a filling weft into theshed in back of said pile yarns, beating up the filling weft into thefell of'the fabric and against the lower extremities of .the pile yarns,wiping up the said lower extremities of the pile yarns around the firstfilling weft, maintaining the chain warps in .the same shed position,severing all of the pile yarns to predetermined lengths, holding theversing the chain warps to form a subsequent shed, in serting a fillingweft in said subsequent shed, and beating up said last-named fillingweft into the fell of the fabric.

7. The method of weaving a loop pile Axminster fabric which comprisesthe steps of forming a first shed with at least two chain warps, wipinga series of pile yarns into said shed, inserting a filling weft into theshed in back of said pile yarns, beating up the filling weft into thefell of the fabric and against the lower extremities of the pile yarns,wiping up the said lower extremities of the pile yarns around the firstfilling weft, maintaining the chain warps in the same shed position,inserting a second filling weft into said shed, beating up the saidsecond filling weft, severing all of the pile yarns to predeterminedlengths, holding the lower extremities of the pile yarns, folding overthe severed pile yarn ends into the shed to form loops, reversing thechain warps to form a subsequent shed, inserting a third filling weft insaid subsequent shed, beating up said third filling weft, and wiping upthe severed ends around the third filling weft.

8. The method of weaving a loop pile Axminster fabric which comprisesthe steps of forming a first shed with at least two chain warps, wipinga series of pile yarns into said shed, inserting a filling weft into theshed in back of said pile yarns, beating up the filling weft into thefell of the fabric and against the lower extremities of the pile yarns,wiping up the said lower extremities of the pile yarns around the firstfilling weft, maintaining the chain warps in the same shed position,inserting a second filling weft into said shed, beating up the saidsecond filling weft under said first cfilling weft and the pile yarnextremities, severing all of the pile yarns to predetermined lengths,holding the lower extremities of the pile yarns, folding over thesevered pile yarn ends into the shed to form loops, reversing the chainwarps to form a subsequent shed, inserting a third filling weft in saidsubsequent shed, beating up said third weft, and wiping up the severedends around the third filling weft.

9. The method of weaving a loop pile Axminster fabric which comprisesthe steps of forming a first shed with at least two chain warps and astulfer warp, wiping a series of pile yarns into said shed, inserting afilling weft into the shed in back of said pile yarns, beating up thefilling weft into the fell of the fabric and against the lowerextremities of the pile yarns, wiping up the said lower extremities ofthe pile yarns around the first filling weft, elevating the stutter warpwhile maintaining the chain warps in the same shed position, inserting asecond filling weft into said shed, beating up the said second fillingweft under said first filling weft and the pile yarn extremities,severing all of the pile yarns to predetermined lengths, holding thelower extremities of the pile yarns, folding over the severed pile yarnsends into the shed to form loops, reversing the chain warps to form asubsequent shed, inserting a third filling weft in said subsequent shed,beating up said third filling weft, and wiping up the severed endsaround the third filling weft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS288,267 Skinner Nov. 13, 1883 1,737,642 Clark Dec. 3, 1929 1,851,477Alvord Mar. 29, 1932 1,927,810 Shaw et al. Sept. 19, 1933 1,944,121Coyle Jan. 16, 1934 1,944,534 Underwood Ian. 23, 1934 1,968,003 Shaw eta1. July 24, 1934 1,990,674 Shuttleworth Feb. 12, 1935 2,010,115Shuttleworth Aug. 6, 1935 2,804,096 Hughes Aug. 27, 1957

